


Iron Hearts, Spider Senses, and a Dash of Pepper

by MarilynnRae



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Twins, Family, Family Feels, Iron Dad, Minor Sexual Assualt, bio dad, everyone is happy, lots of fluff, mompepper
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-02-29 06:18:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18772969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarilynnRae/pseuds/MarilynnRae
Summary: Tony had been raising Peter and Petra since their mother died when they were six and he discovered he was their biological father. This is a lot of fluff, some angst, with some story lines. It's a lot of about how a family of super heroes and how they would grow together.





	1. Chapter 1

To be honest, he had never really wanted kids, so when twins were dumped in his lap nearly a decade ago, it was not surprising that he practically went through the stages of grief before accepting they were his. It wasn’t until his typically very professional assistant, Pepper Potts literally slapped his drunken self in the face and asked him if he was if he was going to throw away his children, prove himself even worse of a father than even his own because at the end of the day, his father was at least a father. It wasn’t a pep talk, but it definitely got his ass into gear. 

He could remember the fire in her eyes as she hissed at him, two six-year-olds kids sleeping on the couch behind a glass door twenty feet away with their heads on blue and pink backpack. They still looked like orphans living out of their backpacks even though he had technically been their guardian for three months now. Two kids that she had been practically raising for him on top of running the rest of his life because he couldn’t run it himself half the time. 

At that point, he listened. Sort of. He started listening. Pepper had already started them in the most prestigious elementary school available, but he did hire a nanny that would assure a normal schedule for them and some relief on Pepper. The poor woman already had a lot on her plate. 

Then, Afghanistan happened, then Iron Man, and a whole world of other shit. But they all adapted. Tony did his absolute best to keep his children out of the spot light, and for the most part succeeded. They were good kids, so unlike their father there was no reason for them to ever be on the front page of tabloids. 

However, out of all the things he had prepared himself for in their teenage years, it was not this. 

His whole body was shaking with fury as he stormed through the penthouse of the Stark Tower. Pepper had done an excellent job of making this section of where once homed the Avengers feel like a nice family home. It was closer to the kid’s school than Pepper’s old place, and FRIDAY installed throughout the entire grounds so they could monitor their lovely little spiderlings a little closer. 

“Why, why did the universe decide I deserved twins?” He quickly spun around and pointed to Pepper. “Don’t answer that.” He paced back and forth, his hand running down his face as his fiancé just stared at him blankly. “I mean, of all things, he gives me a son who is clearly smarter than I am and has a heart of gold, who literally kills me to punish because I feel like I kicked a puppy. Then a daughter who is absolutely gorgeous and also a damn genius, who wouldn’t hurt a fly but can smart mouth me to hell and back.”

Pepper smirked at his descriptions, but let him continue as she casually flipped through her monthly stock report. Everything was looking good for Stark Industries. After all, if it wasn’t, she wouldn’t have been able to make it home for so many evening for dinner the last few weeks. 

“Seriously, these kids have super powers. Literally were key figures in rewriting then all together abolishing the Accords so the Avengers could be reinstated. Don’t get me wrong. Our kids-“ Tony pointed absently in the direction of their bedrooms, “-our kids rock. But why does my daughter have to be on a date with Norman Osborn’s kid right now?” 

Finally, Pepper literally started laughing out loud at him, placing her Starkbook down and grinning at him mischievously. “I’m genuinely impressed you’ve held that in this long.”

Something between a scoff and a sigh came out of Tony’s mouth. “Well, you did only tell me about it ten minutes ago when you’ve known about it all damn week. Honestly, I’m a little hurt. I thought she was out hacking into SHIELD databases again. At least that’s something I could be proud of.”

Peter suddenly appeared next to him with a bagel in his mouth. “I mean, I told Mom about it last week, Petra told her about it earlier this week, I told Mom to tell you when Petra got home so you could complain straight to Petra.”

Tony’s eyes narrowed at him. “Don’t chew with your mouthful, even spiders choke, and I’m almost more okay with the kid’s plan.”

There was a very dramatic eyeroll from Pepper that Petra could perfectly mimic mostly, and not on purpose either. They may not have had any blood relation but they were definitely like mother like daughter. 

“Oh hush, Tony, her curfew is in ten minutes. She’ll be home any time now and, knowing your daughter, she’ll pretended like it was the worst date she’s ever had just because she knows that makes you feel better. Whether you believe it or not, she still kind of likes to make you happy.” At that Pepper came around the bar and opened the liquor bar to pour herself and Tony a drink. 

“Can I-“ Pepper and Tony both shot their son a silencing stare and Peter held up his hands quickly. “I’m kidding! I’m kidding! You know I’m kidding!”

“Bet your ass you’re kidding,” Pepper mumbled as she put the glass to her lips, but her eyes were smiling. 

 

“Besides, I don’t know if alcohol even works on me,” Peter mumbled with a sigh. 

Both parents raised a brow. “Does that mean you’ve tried?” Tony asked, his voice extra curious. 

Quickly shaking his head, Peter raised his hands again. “No! No! Geeze you guys! You think I don’t know FRIDAY can read my blood alcohol content the moment I hit the grounds? I’m not stupid!”

Tony blinked. Uhh… Could Friday do that? Probably, but he never would have thought to ask her. “Damn right she can! Best you remember that, underoos.”

Pepper gave Tony an elbow in the ribs and ruffled Peter’s hair. “Don’t worry, Pete, we know that you and your sister aren’t really interested in that kind of stuff. But if you ever do actually wanted to try something, we will plan a night in and let you all try it. At home. Where you won’t leave, and I swear I will throw your father out a window if he purposely tries to get you drunk.” Her green eyes sparkled at him as she made herself comfortable against her husband’s side. 

Those big doe eyes twinkled at her back and Tony just smirked between them. Honestly, he would have never thought he could have had a shot in hell with raising these kids if it wasn’t for her. Petra called her Mom before Tony had even kissed her. He had gotten onto her more times than he cared to admit for saying it. He had even heard Pepper putting Petra and Peter to bed one night explaining that she wasn’t they’re mommy, but if they really wanted to call her that they could just not in front of their dad. It broke his heart and made it whole all at once. 

Now, their all just a family. A normal, happy go lucky family, all waiting to see how Petra’s date went with one of their father’s least favorite people’s kid.

“Petra has arrived and is on her way up, Mr. Stark,” FRIDAY announced, sending the whole family eagerly glanced in the direction of the elevator. 

“FRIDAY, how does she seem?” Tony asked, taking a coy drink out of his whiskey. It wasn’t that he hoped she was miserable, he didn’t want her to be miserable, but he definitely didn’t was any Osborn to be dating his daughter. They thought they were brilliant, but really they were half-wits doing mediocre work that got a lot of people hurt a fair amount of the time. What scared him more was if Norman Osborn ever met Petra, he’d loved her. He’d try to use her, and that Tony would absolutely not be able to handle. 

 

There was a long beat of silence while FRIDAY almost seemed to be thinking. “Petra has asked if you would please not invade her privacy.”

There was a hum from Tony. “Can I have her exact words please?”

At that moment the elevator doors open Petra’s death stare was on her father. Her curls that had been pulled half was up now all the way down and damp from the storm outside. Apparently, she had him drop her off at the grounds gate and not at the doors for some reason, even then, she looked pretty damp. Her slick black jacket was zipped almost all the way up and her lips pale with the cold. “My exact words were ‘mind your own damn business’.” 

Tony raised his hands in surrender. “Does that mean you’re not going to tell me all about your lovely date with Hermon Osborn?” He looked to Peter to join in on his joke, or maybe correct him on the boy’s name, but he did neither.

Peter wasn’t smiling. In a moment he was across the room to her, his brow furrowed and his hands on her shoulders. “Pet, what’s wrong?” His was tense with worry as his eyes scanned her. It was no secret the twins had a special connection, especially since the spider bite. They were nearly telekinetic. Well, that may have been going a little far, but they definitely had a super weird deep connection that was very helpful in combat. 

“Nothing,” she snapped, throwing off his hands off almost before he could touch her. “I just- I’m just tired.” Her voice was a little more than a sigh and without much fight in it this time. It was believable with the ache he heard and the desperation in her eyes. 

A quick glance was exchanged between Tony and Pepper had them abandoning their drinks and moving toward their kids. Pepper had seen this kind of behavior in her kids before, especially when they were younger. Between Peter’s asthma and Petra’s stutter and epilepsy, they had their fair share of bullies. They tried to act tough, brush it off, but she could tell by their broken tone and their unwillingness to be comforted that something had hurt her babies.

Tony knew. He was familiar with this sort of hurt in his kids too, however he was never good at deal with it. He was a Stark after all. 

“What, does Norman Osborn give his son a higher credit card limit than you?” Tony snarked earning a hellish glare from Pepper and pleading look from Peter. He threw his hands up in the air and tried to look innocent. “Okay, did he take you out in a corvette instead of an Audi? Because, I tell you all the time, if they have money, make sure they’re spending it right on you.”

Petra didn’t even have a sarcastic comeback for him when usually she would typically through back equally Stark like comments back. Instead she brushed by them, moving silently past her family toward her bedroom. 

Tony’s eyes followed her, concern building in his chest though he wore his usual mask of nonchalance. The sound of Petra’s door closing somewhere down the hall had his attention turning back to the remaining people in the kitchen, all of which staring at him in disgust. He raised his hands innocently. “What?”

Sometimes, Pepper could strangle that man. “You are an idiot, you know that?” At that she moved to follow Petra’s direction. 

Glancing at his son, Peter look just as displeased with him, but not as quickly to judge. “Something really upset her, Dad,” he tried to explain, sounding like he wasn’t sure if his dad understood the weight of what he was trying to say. “Like, something is really wrong.”

Of course, he knew that, he was just… he was bad at things like this. Even when it was him and his family, he still found himself performing like some asshat stage monkey. It was a flaw. One of many, many, many flaws that he did honestly try to work on. He made a mental note to talk to Petra later, or maybe just talk to Pepper to see if she thought it was a good idea if he should try and make amends. Pepper was better at this comfort thing. Pepper was better at the parenting thing in general, but he was still pretty sure he was at least Peter’s favorite most of the time. 

“I know, kid,” Tony sighed, the shame seeping through his exterior some. He opened his arm to his son. “Let’s go watch a movie or something. Have a little guy time before bed. You know your mom; she can make Petra feel better in no time. Just like I can make things worse. We all have gifts.”

The small smile wasn’t missed as Peter moved to the space under his father’s arm. At least it was somehow harder to constantly screw things up with Peter, while it felt like he wouldn’t be winning father of the year from Petra anytime soon. 

 

Pepper didn’t ask for permission when she entered Petra’s room. If she really didn’t want to be followed, she would have put herself on lockdown, which she always did if she really didn’t want to speak to anyone. There had been a few fights that were spent with Petra and Tony on FRIDAY’s mainframe out coding each other to keep him out of her room. At one point he had made FRIDAY’s mainframe only accessible from his Ironman suit, but to say that backfired for him was an understatement. Having geniuses for children, especially geniuses raised around the technology that he had created, was exactly the karma Tony Stark deserved in his life.

The wet jacket was already tossed on the floor along with her vans and socks. A head of wild brunette curls peaked out the doorway of her walk-in closet. “Oh, hi.” There was a tentative smile on her lips glanced at her mother before walking fully out with a set of fresh pajamas. The grateful glint in her eyes told Pepper she had hoped her mother would follow. Stark stubbornness, she would never ask for help until she was nearly too far gone. 

“Hey, kiddo,” Pepper took a seat on the fresh duvet she knew Petra had changed almost immediately when she got home from school. The girl’s OCD was almost as bad as her father’s even just in different ways. She couldn’t stand to sleep on dirty sheets and changed them every Friday when she got home from school. “Want to tell me what happened?”

Heat burned Petra’s cheeks as she looked down in shame. “No, but kinda.”

Well, at least it was an honest answer. Pepper patted the space in front of her for her daughter to sit. “Come on, baby, have a seat.” 

Silently, she obeyed. She moved to sit between her mother’s legs and cuddled right into her shoulder. All the tenseness in her body softened as Pepper wrapped her arms around her. Even Pepper felt better feeling Petra relax. “See? I like this,” Pepper sighed, resting her chin against the side of Petra’s head. 

Petra nodded as she let out a breath. “Nothing really happened but… he made me feel… like I did something wrong.” She glanced at her mom then let her eyes fall again. “I think I may have done something wrong.” 

Pepper didn’t say anything but felt herself frown and her brows pull together. Many questions flew to her mind, but she wasn’t going to ask any until Petra gave her more information. 

“We just went to that little café around the corner from Midtown and I guess I ordered too much because he made a comment about it.” She shifted oddly as though still trying to peace together the exact meaning of the words he had said to her. “But I paid for it myself, which he had no problem with and I had no problem with, so I don’t understand why it was a problem anyway… I just get hungry because, you know, my spidey stuff.”

Pepper nodded, hoping to get her to continue on. It was understandable why that would upset her, but it did seem like this was the main cause of the distress. For the most part Petra just seemed confused by the interaction. While the seemed to have been rude, so far that was all he was. Pepper knew for a fact Petra had handled her fair share of rude without batting an eye. So far, the girl had far from done anything wrong.

“You know… my spidey stuff…” Petra got really quiet for a long moment as she stared out the window. Her body seemed to go still, almost lifeless, much like it used to do when she would have focal seizures before the spider bite. For a half second Pepper almost panicked and called for FRIDAY to do an EEG reading, but she didn’t have to. “This Spider-Girl stuff that I can stop a bus with my bare hands and climb skyscrapers, but I can’t push away a boy I told I didn’t want to kiss him.”

Pepper’s blood ran cold as she twisted her head around to see her daughter’s face. “Wh-what? What happened?”

But Petra looked away, her face red with embarrassment as she shook off her mother’s touch and moved toward her window that overlooked all of New York. “I just… I didn’t want him to kiss me. I told him that, but he locked the door and grabbed me and I just… I don’t know. I didn’t let him- well I guess I did- but I didn’t know what else to do. I guess I could have fought him, but I could have really hurt him and I didn’t want Dad and Mr. Osborn to have another one of their big billionaire fights that’s all over everything, and I really don’t want to get dragged into it. But then he-uh- he tried to touch me and I just-just punched him and I think I may have broken his car door too- oh God, Dad’s going to probably kill me for breaking that door, or maybe not I don’t know. He really loves Audis-“

Pepper was on her feet before she realized she was and suddenly grabbing onto her daughter’s arms. “Petra, did Harry Osborn assault you?” 

The shock on her daughter’s face stung her for some reason as she vehemently shook her head. “No-no! No! He just kissed me and like, tried to unbutton my jeans. He didn’t actually do anything. Aren’t you listening? I assaulted him! I think I broke his nose.”

The pang in Pepper’s chest flashed into full blown fiery rage, but she quickly stomped it down and took a breath to look at her daughter in the eye. “But you told him you didn’t want to kiss him.” Her fair skin was getting pink with aggravation even with her doing her best to keep her cool. The last thing she wanted was Petra to think she was upset with her. 

A slow nod from the girl had Pepper cupping her daughter’s face. “I want you to listen to me, and really listen to me. Whether you are Petra Stark, Spider-Girl, or any other person in this world, no one should ever treat another person like he treated you tonight. He touched you without consent, that is sexual assault, and that’s wrong. He was in the wrong.”

Petra stared at her blankly, attempting to process her words. Sexual assault? That… that didn’t seem right. That sounded, well, like something really bad happened to her and she was okay. She got out okay. She was just upset. She just felt betrayed and maybe violated some. But she didn’t really feel assaulted. 

“What’s-what’s going to happen now?” she asked, her voice small and childlike, her face falling into her mother’s chest as though she was trying to disappear. It grounded Pepper again and made her take a deep breath. 

“You’re going to go shower, leave your clothes from tonight out just for me and I’ll take care of them.” It was not the time to mention pressing charges to her, not when she wasn’t even quite understanding that she was assaulted. Looking at her jacket again, Pepper glanced at her daughter. “Did you run all the way here?” 

Petra shook her head. “No, I took the subway.”

Her mother looked at her incredulously. “Is your aphone broken? Could you not call one of us, or Happy, or Rhodey, or literally anyone? It’s eleven o’clock in New York, you know how I hate you on the subway this late!”

The argument of being Spider-Girl was on the tip of her tongue, but there was painful reminder that it didn’t protect her much that night. Pepper must have noticed her sullenness because she wrapped her up tighter. 

“I know you are strong, baby, but you’re still my baby,” Pepper whispered as Petra’s head rested on her shoulder, tears rolling silently down her cheeks. Her hand wrapped around her mother’s back and played absently with the ends of her strawberry blonde hair the same way she had done since she was a little girl. Suddenly she realized how exhausted she was and how she could literally fall asleep right where she stood. 

For several minutes they just stood there, Pepper imagining she could keep her little girl safe forever and Petra basking in the warmth of her mother’s arms. They had nights like this sometimes. Nights where they were all curled up in one bed clinging to each other trying to forget what had happened the days before. Tony didn’t leave the kids for weeks after Afghanistan, and Pepper moved in the day after the whole Hammer fiasco. The time Tony took the missile through the worm hole in New York. The Christmas after Pepper had been injected with the super serum that could have killed her and nearly did while they were actually trying to kill Tony too. Most recently, when the twins took down the Vulture on their homecoming night. The one night Tony and Pepper turned off their phones for a date night thinking what’s the worst that can happen during homecoming without the spider suits and they literally bring down a plane and nearly die. 

The Stark family had enough traumas and anxieties to need extended periods of just love. Stubborn as they were, they had soft hearts. 

“Mom?” Petra’s voice cracked through the peaceful silence. Pepper glanced down at her. “What’s the chances we have to tell Dad?”


	2. Chapter 2

Tony stared at Pepper for an uncomfortably long amount of time. It was mostly uncomfortable because the man who rarely shut up was actually quiet for once, staring out the window to the city, his hand on covering his mouth as his he thought. 

Even though it was one in the morning, she had made a call for Rhodey to be on standby, just in case the man decided to do anything stupid. After all, Tony was known for doing stupid things when it came to people he loved and she was ready to put FRIDAY on lockdown if Tony tried to get to the Osborn boy himself. 

“She’s okay?” Tony asked for the third time since Pepper relayed to him the conversation she had with their daughter. 

Again, she nodded even though he wasn’t really looking at her. “She’s confused, but physically fine. I really think she just needs a little time to figure it out. I want us all, Peter included to talk about it, but I'm following her lead. You know how they are. She needs Peter’s reaction to really understand how she should feel.”

Tony nodded slowly. At that he moved toward their bedroom door, his shoulders slumped. “I’m going to work in my lab some tonight. Don’t worry, I’m not going to go kill the kid or anything, I just… I just need to think some.”

Pepper didn’t say anything as she watched her fiance walk out of the door, knowing he wasn’t going to sleep much, if at all tonight, probably going to figure out someway to blame himself for this too.

Sighing, she climbed into bed and curled up on her pillow. Her own heart ached for her daughter. Her eyes found the plastic bag in the corner of the room that held her daughter’s clothes for the evening and she forced her eyes shut again and rolled over. This world had always been so cruel to them, but she wasn’t ready for the world to start targeting her children in this new way.

Tony thrusted a fist in the air as he bypassed the entertainment rooms security feed through Petra’s “No Snooping” firewalls. She had managed to code in some settings that assured herself and her brother privacy against her father’s tendency to be extremely nosey. For security purposes, still images every .5 seconds would be available in whatever area Petra and Peter were in, however they were delayed by five seconds and there was no audio. 

Now he had live video and audio at his disposal of Peter, Petra, Ned, and MJ. It wasn’t snooping, exactly. He was a concerned parent whose child had just went through a traumatic event. He was checking on them.

Pepper walked into the living area behind him and barely looked up from her Starkpad before she realized what he had done. “When this blows up in your face, I will be watching with popcorn. Petra will absolutely murder you. I promise, I will laugh.”

With a wave of his hand he dismissed her, turning up the volume and zooming in the camera to get a better image.

Peter and Ned sat on the floor doing the new Lego Avenger set that now include Spider-Man and Spider-Girl. Petra was on the couch with her Starkpad looking through some of her new design ideas she had going for her suits while MJ doodled. They were quite the motley crew of weirdos but they did enjoy each other’s company. Even more than that, they knew they could trust each other and at their age that was a true gift. 

“You never did tell us how your date went with Ostwat,” MJ deadpanned, she had been there for all of ten minutes and was not beating around any bushes. It wasn't that she was particularly interested in any dirty details, but it was no secret that Petra was not one to give jocks like Harry Osborn and his group or jerks the time of day. “Or why you actually agreed to go out with him in the first place.”

She turned her notebook around to reveal a very unflattering image of Harry with his eyes crossed and his finger up his nose. Ned and Peter both burst out laughing but Petra shrugged her off. “It wasn’t great. He was as much of a douche as you’d expect and I told you, sometimes I just like to piss of my father.”

Pepper snorted at the other end of the room as Tony threw his hands up in defeat. Sometimes he wondered why he ever kept these brats, blood or no. 

Peter sucker punched his sister in the knee, finally making her glare over her Starkpad at him. “She went on a date with him to try to get into the lab where the spider bit us without too much attention,” he explained, leaning back against the couch and looking mostly at MJ. "Besides it's not like we can just break into Oscorb. Spider-Man and Spider-Girl can't suddenly get a reputation for being criminals."

At that Tony leaned forward, turning up the volume a few more notches again. That was interesting. Why had they not mentioned this to him? Not that he could have gotten him into Osborn’s lab, but Natasha or Bruce could have maybe gotten in if they really were that interested in something from their origins.

Ned stopped fidgeting with Legos and turned his attention to Peter. “Are, are you saying to, like, make more spider people? Because I am so up for being Spider-Guy! Like, I’ll always be you’re guy in the chair but to be Spider-Guy too—”

“No Ned,” Petra sighed, her tone already exhausted with her brother's best friend. “Because we’ve started to discover there are depths to our abilities linked to our human vulnerabilities. It’s kinda hard to explain without giving too much away. Basically, we want to makes sure we can figure out medicine that works for us in case something goes wrong and perhaps getting to the source of the mutation is the best way to do that.”

Peter nodded as Ned’s mouth just stayed agape. Sometimes having superhero best friends was simply too much for the boy. However Tony seemed to be awestruck. He glanced at Pepper and even she seemed to have put down her Starkpad and was staring at him with her brow furrowed. What exactly did these kids of theirs have up their sleeve tampering with their own mutations?

MJ seemed to think for a moment. “Could you not ask some Avenger friend to help?”

Tony pointed to the screen. He always liked that girl.

“No. Osborn made his hate for Tony Stark clear as well as anyone who works for him. However, he finds me and Pete charming, probably just because he knows dad hates it. Harry finds me-“ she closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath, “-attractive, so we tried something. It didn’t work. We can think of something else or simply try to figure out the mutation by seeking help from Shuri.”

Ned and MJ gawked at her. It was clear why. Petra was one who never gave up. This girl had once climbed inside a claw machine after losing six dollars trying to get a certain teddy bear. To simply go another route about the spider was, well, not very Petra Stark. Especially after one bad date.

Peter however only look at his sister for a moment, remembering the way she looked when she came home the night before and nodded. “Okay, we can call Shuri later. I’m sure she’ll be happy to get a needle in one of our arms.”

But that wasn’t enough, especially not for MJ. “Woah, woah, hold up. What the fuck happened last night that you decided that you aren’t going near Oscorp, Pet?”

Petra studiously ignored her as she raised her Starkpad back up and began to go back looking over suit designs. However, MJ was not one to be ignored. A dark eyebrow raised as she waved her hand infront of the Starkpad. “Hello? Earth to Princess Stark, what the hell happened? Did the douche, what?” She searched for a moment. “Pay for dinner? Walk you home? Kiss you goodnight?”

At the last one, even on the monitor Tony could see Petra flinch in the slightest as she pulled her Starkpad closer to her chest. Even she seemed to catch her mistake and knowing her ever perceptive best friend she just kept her eyes closed in shame.

MJ fell back onto the couch, her face softening as she realized what she had said. “Petra, did he kiss you? And you didn’t want him too?” 

There must have been something about a best friend asking that question rather than a parent because Petra’s face crumbled. In an instant Pepper was at his side watching the screen with a broken expression. He shouldn’t have bypassed those firewalls. He should have just let his kids have their moments with their friends. He shouldn't have been invading on this personal moment like this. 

They both watched as Peter leapt from the floor and wrapped his arms around his sister and MJ slung her arms around Petra's shoulders, pulling her into her chest protectively. They had only seen Peter's face for a second, but they could tell he was torn with confusion and anger. He was so pure and sweet, of course he could never understand why someone would hurt someone like Harry had hurt his sister, and of course it burned him to the core that a classmate had dared to do this to Petra. 

Ned, Ned looked furious. He chubby face was flushed red, but he was clearly trying to push it down as he patted Petra’s knee. “It’s okay, Pet. It’s going to be okay.”

Pepper jumped up and covered her face with her hands. “Love of God, Tony, turn it off,” she squeaked, her voice broken and angry. “We shouldn’t be watching this! We should let them come to us! God! What kind of parents are we?”

Tony closed the display and tried to look innocent. “Concerned ones?”

She smacked his arm. “No, Tony! No! Petra already feels violated and you know how she is about privacy and personal space!” Running her hands down her face, she glared at him. “I could slap you for dragging me into this.”

“Didn’t you already?” It was meant to be a joke, but as soon as she took a menacing step toward him, he retreated. “Okay! Okay! I’m sorry!”

Really, he was. Even though some part of him was glad to know the twins were up to something, searching into their mutation, the larger part of him knew how wrong he had been. Petra didn’t open up to him about this stuff for a reason, probably because girls don’t typically go to their dads about boys. Especially not when Petra was as close to her mother as she was. It wasn’t that her and Tony were estranged, they were certainly close in their own way, but he knew his daughter liked to look tough in front of her father. 

Some part of him really felt like this was his fault.

For the rest of the weekend, Petra acted like everything was completely normal. Even on her Sunday morning training at the compound she joked around with Uncle Rhodey and Natasha like she didn’t have a care in the world. Her usual sass was on point with her father as she sparred with him, keeping her strength in check and working strictly on technique. He wasn't the best, but he enjoyed the one on one time with her. 

Peter however was not as good of an actor as his sister. He hovered around her. When he smiled at her jokes, they never quite reached his eyes and though she pretended not to notice it was clear she was getting annoyed by his behavior. A few glares were sent his way when he would offer her help but when she clearly didn't need it. They had their abilities for over a year now, hitting the mat was nothing new to either of them. 

“Alright, Spider against Spider,” Cap announced, clapping his hands together to get everyone’s attention. It was always interesting when they paired of partners. 

Even Momma Bear Pepper came to watch when her kids started sparring, if only to blow a whistle if she thought things were getting out of hand. She hadn’t had to yet as the kids never wanted to hurt one another and with every other Avenger watching there wasn’t much of a chance for them to kill each other. Still, she could never be too careful. They were both extremely strong and they were known to walk out of these one on one sparring matches with some dislocations and severe bruising. They healed quickly and never truly complained about it, so Pepper tried not to say much either. This was their life since the spider bite. She just had to accept that. 

Nonlethal weapons were allowed so they both had their web shooters on their wrists, starting out in open stances ready to move with smirks on both of their faces as the bounced back and forth on their toe. Due to having projectiles, however, they went in the cube to protect everyone else from being covered in webs. 

“You know the rules guys,” Tony stated, his voice serious, knowing there had been tension between the two all day. “This is sparing. Don’t kill each other.”

“Trust me, he couldn’t if he tried,” Petra called back with a grin, glancing at her father. That was a mistake. Taking her eyes off her brother for that one second landed her with a swift kick to the chest and sent flying backward. “Hey!” she snapped her hands catching herself against the side of the wall. Her eyes were fiery with rage. “I wasn’t ready.”

Peter just grinned and dove at her with his fist ready. “No one ever is.”

Part of him expected someone to call foul, but when everyone stayed silent, he quietly congratulated himself. Sometimes Petra’s confidence bit her in the ass. But just as he thought he might land his second punch, Petra dodged it. Her foot pressed his head into the glass as she used it as leverage to jump away from his blow. 

While they had the same abilities, Peter had learned a long time ago Petra was faster just as he was considerably stronger. She was always able to get more shots in, but it took fewer shots from him to knock her down. 

It stung for a second, but he had to stay aware of his sister’s location or else she would be quick to get another hit in. His spider sense screamed suddenly and he threw his hands up to this left just in time to block his sister’s foot from coming at his face again. He wasn’t quick enough to use her momentum against her, only to save himself from the attack so she easily landed on the ground below him.

Clint shook his head with a smile as he watched them. “These kids are ridiculous. They just go from one end to another.” At that moment Peter shot out a web that narrowly missed Petra. 

It was clear to see the surprise and flicker of anger in her eyes as she opened her mouth. “Oh fu-“

Pepper shot up. “Language, Petra Stark!” she snapped so fast the both kids stopped in their tracks to stare at her. 

The entire sideline of adults burst into laughter. Well, all except their mother who was giving them the death stare of their lives. Both twin muttered apologies even though Peter hadn’t even been the one to nearly curse. 

After a moment they seemed shake it back off and go back to throwing fists and bouncing off every angle of the cube. Sam whistled. “I wish I had that much energy.”

Natasha let out a small laugh. “Yeah, but have you seen them eat? They eat out Steve easily.”

There was a snort from Bruce on the other side of Tony. “That’s on normal days, without training.” Rhodey nodded in agreement. He knew to come to never show up unannounced for dinner unexpected if he actually wanted to get fed. 

Ten more minutes went by and they each had landed several good blows. Peter was acting a little guarded of his left arm and he had a sneaking suspicion Petra dislocated it when she tossed him across the room by it, but she was sporting a bit of a limp after he nailed her in the hip with a roundhouse kick. Both were sweaty and panting, bruises that would be gone by school the next were just barely starting to appear along their bare torsos. 

Petra started moving toward him again, but with her limp, she was slower. A lot slower. Slow enough for him to easily catch her. He acted like he was going to fall for her direct charge, knowing full well Petra never went for direct hits. Sure enough, the moment she was within range, she jumped to the left, springing off the wall then springing again behind him. And then he had her. 

With an upper cut right to the ribs, she stumbled. Her breath escaped her lungs in a hash gasp and his elbow caught her sideways in the chin on its way back down, never losing momentum. 

With a loud thud, she hit the mat and the whole room was silent for a moment. “Shit kid,” Tony croaked as he lowered the walls of the cube and jumped onto the mat. Peter just stood there for a minute before he realized his sister wasn’t moving. 

Immediately he dropped down to his knees. “Pet? Petra?” As soon as he turned her around her hand came up and her web shooter nailed him right in the face, some even managing to end up in his mouth. 

“Ass,” she muttered before closing her eyes again, a tired smile on her lips. “At least you quit hovering.” 

Tony and the rest of the crew laughed in relief as Peter clawed at his face in desperation. Pepper, however was not laughing. She grabbed the web solution and went to help her son and kept an eye on her daughter as Tony and Bruce looked her over. Nothing too bad, but they had managed to beat the ever-living crap out of each other. 

Later that night, Tony and Pepper glanced at each other when they heard a knock on their bedroom door. Peter shyly poked his head in to find his parents turning down their bed, being greeted with kind smiles. 

“Hey kiddo,” Pepper greeted as she pulled the comforter down and took a seat. She patted the space next to her for him to sit. “What’s going on?”

The boy looked even younger than fifteen in his plaid pajama paints and plain black t-shirt, but he also look incredibly like a pure and innocent little Tony Stark (had there ever been such a thing). Tony threw himself into bed and ruffled the boy’s hair as he sat. “What’s in that brilliant head of yours tonight?”

Peter’s cheeks lit up as he moved further up on the bed to be a little closer to his dad and be better between his parents. “Well, I was thinking about school tomorrow,” he began, awkwardly pulling at the silk bed sheets. “About how hard it might be for Petra because of Harry, ya know?” Pepper and Tony exchanged looks over Peter’s head as Pepper gave the boy a small squeeze. “I was just wondering what I should do?” 

The first thing that came to mind for Tony was to tell Pete to kick that kid’s ass the moment he laid eyes on the boy, but Pepper probably wouldn’t approve of that. While he didn’t really like to admit it, Pepper was usually right on how to behave like a normal and proper human being. So, he went with plan B. 

Placing his hand on his shoulder, he gave Peter a little squeeze. “Right now, Petra doesn’t know how she wants to handle this, so we need to let her take time to figure it out. Look out for your sister, but don’t go looking for trouble for her. She wouldn’t appreciate that, do you understand?”

There was a slow nod from the boy but he kind of shook his head too. “But what if he says something to me? I mean, I’m not asking permission to hit him but…”

Tony smirked. “Feels like he deserves it, right?” 

At that Peter vigorously nodded and looked up at his father. “I mean, come on, Dad, if someone did that to Mom you would have already beat the hell out of the guy! I don’t understand why we’re just sitting here because it’s Petra.”

That stung him. Mostly because Peter was right, but it wasn’t the same. 

Taking a deep breath, he looked into Pepper’s eyes for a long moment to try and find the words. “You’re right,” he stated with a sigh. At first Peter looked beyond angry, but then Tony held up a finger. “But I would be wrong if I did that. Do you know why? Because your mom wouldn’t want me to do that. Especially if she was in the same state Petra is in. I would only be making things worse. I would be bringing more attention onto her and she wouldn’t need that-she doesn’t need that.”

A tiny proud smile spread on Pepper’s lips as she tried to catch Peter’s gaze. “Right now, Harry Osborn is someone we all are going to watch, but your sister is going to have to make the first move on how we’re going to handle all of this. Think you can do that? For Petra?”

Peter sighed. Of course he could. He would do anything for Petra. 

He just wasn’t going to like it one bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm a terrible fanfic writer and don't really plan my stories. I mean, I do but really losely. So, basically what I'm saying is if you all would like to see anything in upcoming chapters I would love some ideas. I can't make promises, but your ideas may inspire me! So, please comment!


	3. Chapter 3

Honestly, it surprised him just as much as it surprised Harry when he threw the punch, his fist nailing him square in the jaw and sending him tumbling into the lockers as Petra yelped in surprise. Peter really wasn’t someone to just lose his cool, especially unprovoked. Yet, there he was, standing over Harry Osborn glaring at him with a look that could rival the Tony Stark. 

It just didn’t look right. They were standing off in a secluded corner by the locker rooms after the halls had cleared and after the final bell. No one had mentioned anything about what had happened over the weekend, except that Harry had broken his nose in a pickup game of football with some of his gym buddies. Yeah, right. 

Still, when he saw Harry’s arm reach out and touch his sister, he just lost it. It was rare that the Stark temper reared it ugly head in him, but this time it did. Had his father been witness, he would have probably given him a pat on the back for swinging first and asking questions later. Hell, he wouldn’t have even stuck around to ask questions. Peter was a little shocked by his own actions and wasn’t about to leave without Petra.

“Hey!” Petra glared at him from her spot next to the boy twice as stout as Peter on the floor before turning back to Harry. He seemed dazed but the moment his eyes focused back on Peter, Peter readied himself for a fight. As usual, Petra was faster. 

Petra promptly grabbed ahold of her brother’s arm and pinned it behind his back as Harry grunted in pain, holding his mouth and blinking a few times. “What the hell, Pete?” she hissed, pushing him in the direction he came. “He was apologizing!” 

Stunned, Peter could only watch as Petra offered Harry a hand to get him back to his feet. With tender hands she examined his face, a bruise already forming along his jaw line and blood trickling from his lip. At the glare his sister tossed him he had enough shame to glance away. 

“Damn,” Harry gasped trying to offer a smirk but it came off more of a wince. “Where did you all learn to punch?”

Petra laughed awkwardly as she grabbed a small packet of tissues out of her purse. “Our dad had us learn mixed martial arts. Ya know. Being Stark kids, better safe than sorry.”

When Harry glanced at Peter, maybe for confirmation, all he could do was shrug. This was not the sort of conversation he thought he was jumping in on and he was already getting off on the wrong foot. Last thing he wanted was the other foot in his mouth.

“Well, that’s kinda cool,” Harry offered, flipping his dirty blonde hair out of his light blue eyes and seeming genuinely impressed. “But, uh, like I was saying before.” His foot scraped along the tile as his expression shifted to something soft and closer to shame. “I’m sorry what happened Saturday, really. My dad gave me some really bad, as you stated misogynistic, advice on how to treat a lady on a date and I should have followed my instincts.”

He peered up to see a hesitant smile on Harry’s seriously bruising face as Petra offered him a light and gracious laugh. Peter watched as Petra nodded and reached out to squeeze his arm reassuringly. 

“I appreciate the apology. I’m sure it wasn’t the easiest thing to do, but it really makes me feel a lot better. Sorry about your nose.”

Peter grimaced. “And your mouth,” he offered with a shrug not exactly sure how sorry he was yet. Petra seemed to be okay with the entire situation, which was reassuring, but he still wanted more information.

Harry chuckled and offered his hand out to him. “All good, man. I can’t blame you. I figure I probably deserved it.”

At that, Peter’s brows rose and he accepted the hand shake as Petra held a small smile between the two. Maybe there was something about Harry they didn’t know, even or a lot they didn’t know. 

They both watched as the boy walked toward the football field for whatever sort of sport’s practice he was late for. Peter gave Petra a glance but she was already grinning at him expectantly. 

“What?” he asked, extremely off guard,

“Your protective big brother mode is as cute as it is annoying,” she stated plainly before turning on her heels and walking away. “Dad’s going to love that you punch an Osborn in the face though!”

Peter groaned. Petra was too much Stark. 

Xxxx

The rule had always been that if both parents could make it home for dinner, then Spider-Man and Spider-Girl could make it home for dinner. There was typically very little argument since they both loved food a very large amount and knew that family meals weren’t something to be taken for granted since there was a time they went months without one. 

Dinner was always at six so they typically arrived a little before that. Sure enough, just before six they were walking through the elevator, conversation in full swing.

Backpacks were haphazardly thrown to the side as both twins moved right past him straight toward the kitchen area where Pepper had the stir-fry sizzling. Peter stuck his hand into the pan to steal a piece of chicken while Petra took a place at the bar, neither taking much notice of their father sitting on the couch. Their stomachs were directing them more than much else.

“Negging,” Petra stated, her mouth already filled with a rice ball that was laying on the counter. Pepper tossed her a confused look as she shooed both teens away from the unfinished dinner. “It’s a thing, right? Mostly a thing that, like, old people do? Not old, but like older generations. Dad does it doesn’t he?”

A chuckle erupted from Pepper’s throat as suddenly Tony made himself visible from her desk. “I’m sorry? Did I just get insulted twice?”

Peter shrugged, taking a seat next to Petra. “We were just talking about it because Harry apologized to Petra today-“ That received raised eyebrows. “- and he said that he received bad advice on how to treat woman from his dad.”

Petra nodded as she eyed another rice ball, clearly trying decide if angering her mother was worth satisfying her stomach for a moment. “Which Mr. Osborn is close to Dad’s age and Dad was, like, the king of negging.”

Dropping his Starkpad on his desk, Tony moved toward them with purpose. He leaned against the bar, his elbow on the marble as he eyed the three of them with great displeasure. “I’m sorry, I would like to know what the exact definition of ‘negging’ is.”

As though Petra had been waiting for this quest, she gave him a shit eating grin before looking up toward the ceiling. “FRIDAY, would you like to do the honors?”

“With pleasure. Boss, ‘negging’ is defined as is an act of emotional manipulation whereby a person makes a deliberate backhanded compliment or otherwise flirtatious remark to another person to undermine their confidence and increase their need of the manipulator's approval according to Wikipedia.”

Tony glanced backed back at his family of three all who were trying to hide their smirks. “What?” he asked incredulously, balking at them. “You think that sounds like me?”

Pepper shrugged. “Maybe not this Tony, but definitely a ‘pre-Iron Man’ Tony.”

He gaped at her, looking at first to Petra but knowing he would get nowhere with her quickly to Peter for help. Even Peter, his own son, his own little buddy that he could swear her could depend on, merely shrugged at him sheepishly. “Dad, we were little, not stupid.”

Tony’s hand flew to his chest as he shook his head. “Ouch. Betrayal. Betrayal from all of you. I expected such things from that one,” he pointed at Petra who batted her eyes innocently, deftly swiping another riceball as her mother’s back was on her. “Maybe even, you Pep, but Peter?” He squeezed Peter’s shoulders and shook his head. “I’m just blown away. My own son.”

“Not our fault you were a seriously terrible person,” Peter deadpanned making Pepper laugh all over again and Petra almost choke on her rice ball. “You literally brought models to our seventh birthday party. Random models who were almost naked. It was Blue’s Clues themed.”

Tony flinched slightly before turning back to Petra deciding perhaps to change the subject. “So, Ostwat-“

“Tony”

He ignored her. “Apologized?” He tried to sound nonchalant but was genuinely interested. 

Petra’s shoulders tense as she tried seem casual making a point to look mostly at Pepper who also seemed interested in the story. “Yeah, ya know. The totally twisted advise of ‘no means yes’ kind of thing. Harry apologized. So, it doesn’t really matter. He actually nice.” Her cheeks started to turn red as she shrugged. “Yeah, this seems like a great place to stop.”

Her mother leaned forward and squeezed her hand with an encouraging smile before turning back to the stove and clicking off the burner. 

“Actually, he was really nice for getting punched in the face twice,” Peter muttered. Pepper and Tony glanced at him. “I may have also punched him, and that was also a misunderstanding, but he was cool about it.”

Tony ran a hand down his face and shook his head. “Okay, no more misunderstandings with the Osborns. I really don’t want to have to have dinner with them or something. No matter how nice his kid is, Norman is painful to be in the same room with.” Even Pepper hummed in agreement and started passing out plates. 

Technically the kids could go back out after dinner, but they rarely did. Petra laid across the couch with her head in Pepper’s lap and Peter had his feet in Tony’s. This was how they wanted it to stay forever. Their kids were growing up so fast. Tony shifted a little as he glanced at his two teenagers. Did that make him want another little one?

Xxxx

Pepper stared at Tony like he had lost his ever-loving mind, because she was fairly sure he had. 

They had sent the twins to bed and barely made it to their own room when he dropped this bomb on her. Surely he couldn’t be serious, but he was Tony. He was always serious when it came to his sudden half baked ideas that would change their entire lives. 

“You want to have a baby?” she stated, still frozen in the same place she had been when he had mentioned this, minutes earlier. “Like now? With twin superhero teenagers and a multibillion dollar business to run?”

If she hadn’t been with him as long as she had, she would have never seen the slightest flinch from realizing the clear flaws in his plans. Still, he kept a mask of surety on. “Come on, Pep. We raised Peter and Petra, who were literally dumped in our laps, while I was doing Iron Man things. They turned out great!”

Pepper narrowed her eyes dangerously. “That took years off my life and it’s debatable how great they turned out. They’ve both been through enough therapy for their lifetime. They’ve nearly lost their you God knows how many times, and me more times than I care to think about. Not to mention they were both in and out of hospitals until they got their powers.”

Pepper thought of all the nights she sat in the pediatric ward with one child sleeping in the hospital bed and the other sleeping in her lap. Peter’s lips tinging blue from a terrible asthma attack, fighting him every night to get him to use his nebulizer. Petra staring into nothing as her lips smacked, or even worse, falling to the ground suddenly and convulsing violently. 

The times she had handled it all on her own because it took Tony too long to grow up. He wasn’t there for all of it. Sure he was there now, but he was still Iron Man. She had watched him nearly die too many times and she could do it alone again. How could she handle the stress of watching her children following in their father’s footsteps and another child?

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to carry Tony’s baby, it was that she couldn’t do it alone. She didn’t know if she could trust Tony not to leave her alone.

“Pep? Pepper?” Tony was crossing the room to her, softly taking her elbows in his hands to hold her closer. “What’s wrong?”

As she looked up at him, she suddenly realized she was crying. Tears rolling down her cheeks as she shook her head. “I can’t do this, Tony. Not now. I’m not saying not ever, but not now.”

The seed of resentment that she thoughts was long since dead seemed to sprout for the first time in years as she remembered all those times she felt alone in raising children that at the time didn’t truly feel like hers. Now that couldn’t be further from the truth. Peter and Petra were hers. They couldn’t be more hers if she carried them herself. Most days she forgets that she didn’t. 

Her head fell as she tried to wipe her tears as they fell. She could feel Tony just watching her and the confusion rolling off of him.

“Okay, that’s alright, Pep. Just tell me what’s going on.” There was fear in his voice that made Pepper feel even worse. She knew how unreasonable she was being, after all she had long forgiven him until only moments ago. 

Quickly she shook her head and looked back up at him, offering him a water smile. “Nothing, nothing, just overtired and you caught me off guard. Can-can we just be grateful with the two we have right now and let me think on any additions?”

Eagerly Tony nodded. “Of course, Pep. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

The fear and anxiety in his eyes had her feeling terrible, but she couldn’t change how she felt. “It’s nothing. Let’s just go to bed.”

Thankfully, he knew when not to push things. Still, he pulled her in for a hug and held her tight. His lips pressing against the side of her head as his embrace tried to remove her pain. “I love you.”

A smile tugged at her lips as she buried her face in his neck. “And I love you.” That was the easy part.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a while since I posted but it seems my muse is back. Tony is getting called out for a lot in his past in this chapter which doesn't really seem fair but at the same time I think Pepper has every right to have hesitations. What do you all think?

**Author's Note:**

> I hope to make this story long and enjoyable. Please let me know what you think! <3


End file.
